319 total results

The Day of the Lord has received little attention in New Testament scholarship, making a study of how it is used in 1 Thessalonians worthy of consideration. Paul employsthe Day of the Lord explicitly in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 in the context of exhortation. This study explores how Paul uses and appropriates the Day of the Lord, studies the background for Paul’s use of the motif and determines whether the Parousia and the Day of the Lord are interchangeable. This is a New Testament exegetical study. Part 1 is a literature review,which surveys: the Day of the Lord motif in scholarship with special reference to those studies that include 1 Thessalonians; and a review of methodological approaches to 1 Thessalonians. The adopted approach focuses on the Greek text of the epistle to show that the conclusions are drawn from 1 Thessalonians. It is established for purposes of later exegesis that the Thessalonian church is undergoing conflict. Part 2 studies Paul’s source for the Day of the Lord concluding that his source for understanding the motif is the Jewish Scriptures. As there is no common consensus as to the meaning and referent of the Day of the Lord in the Jewish Scriptures, a representative sample of Day of the Lord texts are studied within the books of Amos, Joel, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Malachi. This found that the Day of the Lord motif is; flexible being able to refer to local and eschatological judgment, is imminent, has an ethical appeal which is to turn back to Yahweh, expresses hope and vindication for God’s faithful people and is the day on which Yahweh will reveal himself to the world. Part 3 is the exegesis of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 5:1-11 to ascertain how Paul uses the motif and appropriates it for the Thessalonians. The pericope 4:13-18 is included to assess whether Paul uses the motif of the Parousia interchangeably with the motif of the Day of the Lord and provides context to 5:1-11. It was found that when Paul uses the term Parousia he does so with an eschatological sense which equates similar concepts that are included in the Day of the Lord. The study of 5:1-11 found the Day of the Lord motif: affirms the certainty of the Thessalonians hope, is an ethical call to live sober and alert lives, is imminent, cannot be directly interchanged with the Parousia motif, is positive because of Jesus’ death ‘for us’, and is evidence of Paul’s high Christology.

Abstract reads : "Throughout his career, Graeme Goldsworthy disseminated the Robinson-Hebert schema widely. This has had a significant impact, yet also received criticism. For some, Goldsworthy opened Scripture up to them, for others, he restricted its voice. This thesis assesses to what extent his three-epoch, macro-typological biblical theology allows Scripture to be heard without distortion. To assess this, the rationale behind Goldsworthy’s method is explored. Through this process three potential issues arise and are then assessed. Firstly his macro-typological schema shies away from details to prevent falling into allegory. This mutes the OT to some extent. It is argued that Goldsworthy’s work would benefit in a shift from being Christ-centred to being Christotelic so as to let the details breathe more. Secondly, it is asked if his three-epoch schema de-historicizes the prophets since he argues prophets mainly function to confirm types. It is found that the three epochs do function to remove the prophets from their original context and that a shift from typology as the overarching structure to progressive salvific history would be more appropriate. Thirdly, it is shown that unity in a theme leads to singularity. Even though themes are useful for interpretation, overall unity should be found in Christ rather than any given theme. In light of these findings the logical question to ask is if the real problem is the macro structure since this is what underpins all these issues. Is it a matter of making a shift in these three emphases or rather rejecting the model all together? Use of a macro structure is unavoidable as it is impossible to come to the text without some kind of framework. What is important is that the hermeneutical spiral is used and that exegetical priority is exhibited. However, it is also found that a great benefit of the macro structure is the way that it keeps the subjective firmly grounded in the objective, which allows the interpreter to ‘preach grace’ faithfully. Thus in returning to the question of if Goldsworthy’s model allows Scripture to speak, it is found that it facilitates this especially in regards to allowing one to keep God’s work central. However, it would benefit from shifting from a Christ-centre to Christotelic approach, from typology to progressive revelation as the overall base, seeing unity in Christ rather than a theme and finally, further use of the hermeneutical spiral." Chapter one: Introduction and method Chapter two: The Rationale behind Goldsworthy’s Christ centred Macro Typology Chapter three: Three potential issues of Goldsworthy’s Macro Structure Chapter four: Are macro Structures valid interpretive methods? Chapter five: Final Conclusions

Abstract reads : "Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” (20:17 ESV)λέγειαὐτῇἸησοῦς·μήμουἅπτου, οὔπωγὰρἀναβέβηκαπρὸςτὸνπατέραπορεύουδὲπρὸςτοὺςἀδελφούςμουκαὶεἰπὲαὐτοῖς· ἀναβαίνωπρὸςτὸνπατέραμουκαὶπατέραὑμῶνκαὶθεόνμουκαὶθεὸνὑμῶν.(20:17 NA28) What does Jesus mean when he speaks of his ascension in John 20:17? When and where does this ascension occur? How does the Johannine ascension relate to the way the ascension is depicted in Luke-Acts? Many commentators approach John with the assumption that where there are tensions in harmonizing John with Luke-Acts, the chronology of Luke-Acts is to be preferred. This has a significant impact on how they read the text. Readings of John 20,preoccupied with harmonization questions, tend to misread elements in John’s narrative and read into the text elements of the Luke-Acts account that are not present in John’s narrative. This is particularly evident when the presentations of the ascension in John and Luke-Acts narratives are compared. This paper conducts a reader-response experiment that postpones questions of Gospel harmonization and seeks to understand the Johannine ascension announcement in John 20:17, firstly within the immediate context of the John 20 narrative, then within the wider narrative context of the entire Fourth Gospel, and finally seeking to understand how the Johannine ascension relates to the ascension account in Luke-Acts. Reading John and Luke-Acts as texts in their own right that challenge and complement the perspective of the other, yields a rich and well-rounded theology of the resurrection, the ascension, the exaltation and the role of the Spirit. Counterintuitively, reading John first, before asking questions about harmonization, opens up intriguing and satisfying possibilities for harmonizing John 20 with Luke-Acts. This paper demonstrates that the Johannine ascension is a relational reunion with the Father, as distinct from the spatial translation to heaven in Luke’s account. The Johannine ascension is more akin to what Systematic Theologians call the exaltation of Jesus. " Chapter 1 : Setting the scene Chapter 2 : Issues of method Chapter 3 : First reading : the ascension in John 20 Chapter 4 : Second reading : the ascension in John Chapter 5 : Third reading : the Johannine ascension for readers of Luke-Acts Chapter 6 : Some observations about reading A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Theology Moore Theological College, July 2015

Abstract reads : "It is widely recognised that the book of Hebrews presents a more explicit and thorough exposition of the significance of Christ’s humanity than any other New Testament document. Despite this, the scholarly examination of Christ’s humanity in Hebrews remains under-developed. Many works, while acknowledging its significance, examine it in only a cursory or tangential way. A few scholars have provided more extensive examination, but their conclusions have been controversial. The present study is an exegetical examination in Hebrews 2:5-18—the first major section of Hebrews to give focused attention to the humanity of Christ. By careful analysis of the text, within its own context, this study aims to clarify and deepen our understanding of how the author of Hebrews presented the humanity of Christ and its significance. This thesis argues that Christ’s humanity is explained in Hebrews 2:5-18 through Old Testament categories, and particularly in relation to Psalm 8. In Psalm 8, humanity is depicted as inherently frail but is exalted over creation through its relationship with God. In Hebrews 2, Christ is presented as having entered into human frailty and, in that position, exercised faith in the Father. As the true expression of what humanity was created to be, Christ also entered into the promised dominion of humanity. In so doing, he opened the way for other humans to receive the promised blessings of Psalm 8. Hebrews 2:5-18 further depicts Christ as the human leader of God’s people. This thesis argues that, as the ἀρχηγός, Christ exercises a role of leadership that was prefigured in the OT kingly and prophetic offices. Both of these offices intrinsically entailed identification of the leader with those who are led. To be perfected in this role, then, Christ needed to experience the frailty of humanity in a fallen world and demonstrate faith in the midst of his sufferings. This thesis further argues that Hebrews 2:5-18 presents Christ’s humanity as central to his sacrificial work. In becoming a human, Christ took on mortality such that he could die for his people. Christ’s death is therefore presented as a substitutionary sacrifice—his mortal humanity took the penalty of human death that hung over sinful humans. Hebrews 2:5-18 concludes by introducing the priesthood of Christ. This is the first explicit introduction of the concept of priesthood in Hebrews. By introducing Christ’s priesthood as the conclusion of 2:5-18, the author frames priesthood in the categories of humanity expressed in this passage." Submitted in Fulfillment for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Moore Theological College.

Originally delivered 1980-01-01